Page Count: 210

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ABOUT THIS BOOK
Are you ever really prepared for your first child? Or even the second or third? Sure, you've got the nursery set up, the diapers bought, and the pediatrician selected, but you may be shocked, despite your best efforts, at how totally unprepared you are for parenthood!

Oh, Baby! 7 Ways a Baby Will Change YOUR Life the First Year will provide you—the expectant or new parent—with the "real story" about the many surprising ways a new baby will turn your life upside-down. The joys will be plentiful—but so are the challenges! In fact, seven key areas of your life will be impacted—in both wonderful and overwhelming ways—when you have a baby. This book is realistic about how life is changed postbaby. It offers practical advice and sensitive know-how to help survive—and even thrive—in the first year.

Chapter One Excerpt - Reprinted with permission from the publisher.

Four Ways a Baby Will Introduce You to the Perils of Love

Most people think they know what it's like to have love in their lives until they have a child. Then they realize that they never had this kind of love! Your love for your child is unique, and distinct from any other love you'll ever experience. It is a wonderful love, but also a painful one. It's the best feeling in the world, but it will bring up so many other emotions as well. Marla and Brian found out what love really meant when Samantha was born.

You'll Learn the Meaning of Sacrificial Love

Sacrifice involves loss. When you have a child, you willingly give up anything to protect her, keep her safe, fulfill her needs, and ensure her happiness. You may leave the big city you love because you feel she?ll be safer in the country. Or you may leave the country to be closer to family and schools, or to have quicker and better access to medical facilities. You're willing to give up the career you've pursued for years because it takes you away from the child you love. Or you may find a new job because the added expenses of bringing up a child require that you earn more income. You'll even give up a dream...running for office, climbing a mountain if there's a possibility that it could lead to harm for your child. Or you may decide to do these things now because you are inspired and motivated to excel at what once scared you, or that you had no interest in doing. Or now that you're a parent, you may wish to pave the way and make the world a better, safer place for all children. And there's a good chance that you'll find great joy and contentment in watching your child accomplish her dreams instead of focusing solely on your own. You take pride in her achievements and realize that being the wind beneath her wings becomes your greatest source of satisfaction. Your own life holds less value for you now in comparison to hers. You learn the true meaning of sacrifice and you're willing to make it. How splendid the effect our children have on us!

Marla once dreamed of advancing in her career, but when Samantha was born with health problems, she didn't think twice about who needed her most. While she rued the loss of all the progress she'd made advancing in her field, the mother's love she felt for her baby demanded no less than caring for her in these important first years of life. As Marla said, If I had it to do all over again, I'd make the same decision. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make because of my love for Samantha.

Although Marla had to give up a job she loved, she stayed in touch with her closest coworkers and kept up her contacts in case she might be able to return to her career in the future. After Samantha's health stabilized and she was out of the woods, Marla was also able to freelance from her home for one or two small clients. She was making much less money than before, but it helped keep her public relations skills fresh and allowed her to keep a foot in the door of a field she loves and may someday return to.

You'll Shoulder Enormous Responsibility

Raising a child is a major responsibility. Who among us does not soon find that children need enormous amounts of our time and energy not to mention that in the first year they bind us to the house and restrict our once-carefree lives? Children keep us up throughout the night, needing comfort and soothing, especially when they are ill or cutting teeth. And yet, mysteriously, we parents do not find the responsibility of this sort of caretaking burdensome or bothersome. In fact, we find great joy in it! Fifteen minutes after finally rocking your baby back to sleep at 3 a.m., you need only stand at the crib and watch as he lies peacefully asleep, and you'll find a smile in your heart.Because Samantha was premature, Brian and Marla took on the enormous responsibility of caring for her. They had to administer medications, hook up various monitors and alarms, schedule visits with specialists and therapists, and shoulder the increased worry and fear that accompany the birth of a fragile little being. But out of this huge burden arose a love so fierce that Marla and Brian would do anything they possibly could for their child's welfare. They willingly took on the added responsibility for Samantha's care because of their love.



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